


Hiraeth

by ElvaDeath



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Akabane Karma is a Little Shit, Child Abuse, Depressing, Gakuhou is a terrible dad, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-01-22 04:16:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21295088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElvaDeath/pseuds/ElvaDeath
Summary: Mirai Asano, twin to Gakushuu, has always been fighting her family. As the backup plan in case Gakushuu fails, she's constantly wanted more. In her bid to outshine her brother, she instead ends up falling to the very bottom: Class 3E.But can this be the chance to save her?~~~~~~~~~~This work has been cancelled.
Relationships: none yet
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	1. When I was Young

As a young child, I loved to sit in my room and flick through the pages of books. Even if I didn’t understand the little black squiggles on the page, they fascinated me with their thinness and strange smell and unfamiliarity. I would pull my blanket from my four-poster bed (which was way too large for my tiny body) and drag it to the centre of my floor, wrapping the huge swathes of heavy warm fabric around me. Then I would wait a while, listening closely, until I was sure there was no one outside, before I took out the leatherbound book I had hidden under my bed, and trail my chubby finger along the uniform black lines. Of course, I could never ask Father what the strange markings meant, or he would know I had been the one taking these books from his library. But that was part of the thrill of it, I suppose.

When I went to nursery for the first time, I asked my teacher what they meant. She asked me to draw them out, so I did, perfect little copies of the letters. She looked surprised, and happy, and asked me how I knew them. I told her a lie. It wasn’t a very good one. I was too young and too inexperienced at lying then, because I had always been too scared to. She knew I had lied instantly, so she asked again, and I reluctantly told her. I was weak willed back then as well. At first she was disapproving, but then she told me to tell my Father, and ask permission instead of taking them. I told her he didn’t like it when I asked to borrow his things. She said she would come with me, to give me enough courage. Whatever I said, I couldn’t dissuade her, and all through the day a small lump of fear grew in my little stomach.  
At the end, she walked with me and Brother to the gates, clutching each of our hands in one of her own. Brother is my twin, Gakushuu Asano, with the same amethyst eyes and strawberry blonde hair as me, except his is of course cropped close to his head. He has always been confident and arrogant, even as a child, the polar opposite of my young self. Next to him, I was a weak timid little thing, struggling with the most basic social interaction. Although, that is hardly surprising, seeing as Father had always focused on Brother to take over from him. I have always only been something for Father to motivate Brother into defeating me, just competition for top spot until he joins Father in his work and turns to more relevant rivals. Father has never been clear on what will happen to me then, but I refuse to ask. I’ll be out of his clutches long before I find out.

As we approached the gates, Father came into view. It is unusual for him to pick us up, but seeing as that was our first day, he had decided to come. Compared to the parents around him, who stood a little distance away, he was the picture of calm, a stone pillar layered in a sheet of diamond. He wore the same immaculate suit he donned every day at the high school he controlled. A smile touched the corners of his mouth, cold and condescending of the flurry of activity around the squealing children. Not a hair was out of place, yet somehow he did not make it look as though he had tried too hard. Effortless perfection. The terrified boulder in my stomach had contracted tightly at the sight of him, pushing at the walls of my insides, disturbing the digesting food there until I felt I had to throw up. But I knew with her beside me, I couldn’t back out. She introduced herself, her tone formal and intimidated, then she announced I had something to tell him. He raised his eyebrows a millimeter, and turned to me, focusing his burning eyes, identical to mine and Brother’s, upon my shivering frame. What could I do? My lip wobbled, speech stammering, but somehow I managed to force the confession out.  
I waited for his eyes to flash, for his aura to darken, for those centipedes to swarm over me and squeeze the life from my fragile body. Yet nothing happened. He gave me a small lecture, tone light, and said he would think about looking over his books with me. Nothing more. She left me then, smiling in approval, walking back into the building and rounding up the rest of the children to drive out. Relieved, I climbed into the backseat after Brother, and Father sat in the driver’s seat.

We set off. He was all smiles, pleasantly asking how our day had went, whether we had made friends, what sort of work we had done. My innocent childish mind was satisfied by this friendly exchange, so I relaxed and responded happily, excited by the prospect of Father reading through those wonderful books with me, and not Brother. I barely even noticed the worried looks Brother gave me.  
Distracted by enthusiastically gushing about how wonderful school was, I never saw how far we were driving from our house. It was only when the car stopped did I realise that we were in the middle of nowhere, and the first tendrils of fear set in.  
“Gakushuu, please stay in the car. Mirai, come with me.” He instructed, his voice maintaining the light tone.  
There was no question of me disobeying him. I clambered out when he opened the door for me, and hesitantly followed him down a small muddy path to the gate of a field, resisting the urge to simply turn and run.  
“Tell me, what do you see?” he questioned.  
I looked out. “Sheep…?”  
“I will tell you what I see. I see normal people.”  
I frowned, confused, at the soaked sheep miserably tramping across the mud to the next bit of sparse grass.  
“You see,” he continued, “Normal people are content to stay within their little muddy field, eating dirt and obeying their owners. That is why I am not a normal person.” He turned his attention down at me, and I gazed back with my sparkling child’s innocent stare. “Do you want to be a sheep? Or do you want to be like me?”  
I barely even hesitated. “I want to be like you!”  
Yes, I wanted to be like my powerful, clever, charismatic, handsome father. This is the part of the story I despise the most. I had no idea what I was saying, who Father truly was, yet I had just blindly bound myself to him forever in those six simple words. By refusing to become a sheep, I had effectively changed my fate to forever be one.  
“Then you will first need to understand that everything has consequences.” He leaned over and picked me up, sitting me on the old fence.

It was unfair, really. My young brain had no idea what he was saying, so I went along with it unknowingly, dangling my legs as I stared directly into his eyes.  
From an inner pocket of his suit jacket, he pulled out a sharp little knife. Even I could understand this was a sign of danger, my body tensing up and recoiling from it. The purple orbs of his eyes burned brightly, openly enjoying my discomfort, his smile still carved onto his face as he took my arm and pulled up my sleeve as far up as he could. I watched him, my forehead furrowing, not fully aware of what was happening, but knowing it was wrong.  
“You do not steal from your master.” His voice dropped low, his smile vanishing with it as the edge of the knife sliced open my skin in a small line at the top of my arm.  
It was a thin, shallow cut, but I was a protected feeble child. The sudden pain froze me for a split second, then, as every child would, I began to cry and squirm in his grip, trying to put as much distance between me and the knife. He held me even tighter, though he didn’t need to put much effort into it.  
“You do not rely on other people to solve your problems for you.” A second cut.  
“D-daddy! S-sto-o-o-op!” I wailed.  
This only seemed to enrage him further. “You do not beg for mercy!” He cut again, this time more vicious, the crimson blood trailing down my shaking arm.

Footsteps along the path. He scowled, pulling my sleeve down and tucking the knife away before a young man rounded the corner. “Is everything all right?”  
“Yes, everything is fine. She is simply tired.” His smile was back, masking over the annoyance.  
“Would you like me to help? My son always loves his piggybacks!” The man suggested timidly, cowed by Father’s constant intimidating aura.  
How can he not realise? I need help! I was screaming in my head, but my hiccuping tears made it impossible for me to say anything.  
“I think I will be alright. I can carry her myself. Thank you for your offer, it was very kind.” He picked me up and carried me on his front, his grip outwardly caring but tight, preventing any struggles I made. I tried to pull away but my efforts weren’t acknowledged by either man.  
“If you’re sure. Good luck!” He grinned and walked past, hopping the fence into the field.  
Father watched him go with a condescending smile. Once he was out of sight, he walked back to the car and dropped me into the back seat beside Brother.  
Brother instantly leaned over to hug me as he saw my tears, whispering. “What did he do?”  
“I would advise you to leave her to mull over her thoughts and decisions, Gakushuu.” Father said without turning to look at us, starting the car and driving to our mansion. “Or perhaps you would rather experience firsthand what just happened, to truly understand her?”  
Scowling, he gradually withdrew from me, though he kept glancing at me for all of the silent journey home. I can’t remember if he cared about me back then. If asked now, he would obviously say he had despised me from the second we were separate.

I tried telling the teacher what had happened. She did not believe me, even after I showed her the bandages wrapped around my arm. I suppose she thought I was trying to make an accidental injury something bigger, for attention. She told Father. I could never ever trust her or any other teacher again, not after the punishment I received from her foolish mistake.


	2. Opportunity Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the bad format, I swear the rest of what I write is far better than this. It's just that I've simply copied and pasted what I wrote before.
> 
> If you actually want me to spend more time going over it to make it better to read, please comment and say so. Tbh I'm updating this one on my phone quickly before I go to bed, so I really don't have the effort to repair it.
> 
> Thank you if you're giving it a try though! Check out my other works (only one at the minute, but more will come), they will be far better.

It has been a long time since I was that weak and defenseless. It has been a long time since Brother tried to comfort me. It has been an even longer time since I admitted anything to Father. Yet it has barely been any time at all since he cut me last for making a mistake or disobeying him.

Now I am in Father’s territory, or as I call him now, the Chairman. Not only that, but I am in Brother’s territory too, Class 3-A. So I claimed the rest of the year as my own, from Class 3-B to Class 3-D. If my Brother gets the elite, I can get the masses, for often numbers can outweigh any level of intelligence. Besides, why would I need other people’s intelligence when mine is far beyond any of these petty fools in this ‘top’ school? Even Brother cannot hope to outmatch me. My photographic memory is the only thing Father has ever shown me he was proud of. It is part of the reason he acknowledged I was worthy enough to rival my arrogant ass of a Brother.  
Even so, I know Father will deliberately find questions that will challenge me specifically, so I always play it safe by revising just before the exams. 

The rest of the time I build up my charisma, as that was the one thing I lacked skill in as a child. This has the unintended but beneficial effect of surrounding me with faceless minions who adore me yet are not close enough to find out about the uniform scars covering my body like tiger stripes. Father made sure I would never show them by paying doctors to declare I have a weak heart, and cannot, therefore, join any form of physical exercise that would force me to wear short sleeved clothing or shorts. Physical strength is the one thing Brother has been able to surpass me in without a constant battle. I am determined not to let that be the case with anything else.

This leads to the point where I begin the true story. I was in the school library one afternoon, midterms drawing closer, my head buried in physics equations, taking up a whole table with the mountains of books. No one complained though. They never did. It wasn’t because they feared me or lived in awe of me like they did with Brother or Father, but they adored me as their leader and friend. Of course, this unfortunately meant I was often disturbed by passing students who were the higher rank of my minions, yet a quick smile and reply was often enough to make them leave me in peace.

I knew all students in the school by name, nickname, face, ID, and anything else used to describe them, as did Brother and Father. That is how I instantly recognised when Brother’s inner group of minions walked in. They were a weak-willed and ugly lot, but somehow their molecules of brains managed to push them into the top spots in certain subjects. Annoyed by their existence, I tried to focus back on the miniscule lines of text in front of me, but it was hard to ignore them when they were making such a ruckus by their usual table.

Irritation drives me to look up at them again, ready to go sort out whatever mess they were making of themselves. However, I pause as I see who they are talking to.   
Yukiko Kanzake, Rio Nakamura, Yuma Isogai, Maname Okuda, Nagisa Shiota, Kaede Kayano. I reel their names off in my head as I examine them. Class 3-E. They really were causing a lot of trouble this year, especially to Brother and Father. For the first time, they were winning, or at least gaining in the ranks. I knew they were driving my family insane, so of course I inwardly supported them, though I knew sooner or later they would be crushed. It was only a matter of time. And of course, Nakamura… My interest peaked, I stand and nonchalantly wander closer to hear their conversation.

“..these aren’t your average everyday dumbasses. They actually have some academic chops!” Natsuhiko Koyama was saying. Lanky hair, glasses, uneven teeth. Not the most handsome person ever, but he always took top in the sciences, whenever Brother or I did not claim that title first.  
“Is that a fact? How interesting.” Teppei Araki replied, wandering behind Nakamura and the Isogai boy. Green hair, plain features, leader of the media club. “Well as long as we’re all here why not make it even more interesting and wager those chops against something higher than bragging rights? Whoever scores lower has to do what the other class says. Sound fun?”

Fool. Absolute fool. Our class will win, of course, but to even consider a wager without talking to Brother? He will be pissed for sure. For that matter, I am pissed too. By being the unfortunate classmate of these buffoons, I am roped into this ridiculous bet too.  
“Come on, don’t be a wuss!” Tomoya Seo challenges, leaning on the Nagisa girl. Brown hair, large nose, top in English (again, excluding me and Brother). “Where the hell’s that attitude all of a sudden? If you wanted to, we’d even put our lives on the line.”  
At this, something was triggered. In the blink of an eye, each of the E class students had a pencil point straight to the minion’s throats.

“I’d be more careful about betting my life if I were you.” Nagisa commented casually. I’d never taken notice of most E class students before, but this one in particular drew my attention. There was something in her tone and easy manner that focused me. I had seen her once or twice around school, before she was dumped in E class, and she had been nervous and weak, easily forgotten. Now she seemed totally different.  
Interesting. A little surprising, but interesting. I knew E class was unhinged, but seeing them in motion was a lot more intriguing than I had originally thought. Something had flashed in their eyes for a split second that reminded me a little of a wolf about to pounce. That look should never have even graced the eyes of these low breeds in their entire lifetime, let alone be strong enough to cause this sort of reaction.

Squealing threats and insults, the group of minions fled. By now, the entire library was watching them. Good. I could observe more closely undetected. I wandered a little closer, but their conversation turned to more menial things, revealing nothing of their identities. Still, I could catch a little of their group atmosphere, and mentally noted down everything I could.  
The time for ignoring E class has passed. It had passed a long time ago, but being the fool I was, I had not truly understood how valuable they could be in my battle with my family. Now it was time to start making use of the curious problem they posed to Brother and Father. My new puppets would be most useful indeed.

To my surprise, Brother was relaxed, even a little happy about the deal they had struck. I watched from the back of the classroom as he typed a list of demands into a contract E class would sign.   
Clever. I observed his aura darkening to reflect Father’s as he replies to his minions awe with his arrogant words, spitting out meanings he didn’t even understand. I sat in silence as the rest of the class cheered after his small speech. So focused was he that he barely even tried to hide those familiar centipedes behind his eyes that had been wrapping around my life and his before we even came into existence. 

As his glowing purple eyes scanned the class, they met mine for a brief second. I could feel his power lust rolling off him in waves, and I wasn’t having it. I could never stand it. He claimed he hated the Chairman, yet he was willingly becoming a clone of him. Not like I was one to criticize though. The Asano craving for power runs in my blood too.  
I stand deliberately, letting my chair scrape across the ground. The class quiets, turning to look at me, their enthusiasm dulling. They knew what would come next. After all, they’ve been seeing the same thing every day of their lives. It’s impossible to escape the bitter bloody rivalry of the Asano twins when you’re in their very class.  
“Mirai. I hope you’re not thinking of doing anything to jeopardize this class and their new mission?” he questions softly, eyes challenging. He addresses me as though I am one of his minions, or even something less than that. He knows I hate it, so he does it as much as he can. This power play has to make use of every weakness and annoyance to keep us alert and controlled.

The sweet smile I give him is somehow charming even while it is laced with malice. I know because this is the same smile I have been developing from as far back as I can remember, directly with the intent of annoying him and Father. “Of course not, dear brother.” He hates this too. The more distant he pretends he is from me, the more intimately I talk to him. “I was only wanting to offer my undying support to you and your woefully misguided cause.” Though my words may be filled with sarcasm, I paint a layer of sincerity over them with my light, cute tones. As a girl, not many understand how dangerous I am.  
He cannot ridicule me for anything I said, I made sure of that. All he can do is match me with a dark smile of his own. “I thank you for your support. Though if it helps, know we will win. We are all Class 3-A. Therefore, we are in this together.” He warns.

I pick up my bag and sling it around my shoulder, movements meticulously careful. My shoes click against the floor as I walk up to him, stopping mere inches from his face. He doesn’t flinch, though the rest of the class hold their breath. It has never come to a fight before, but we like to keep the school on their toes.  
“I am well aware.” I drop my smile a little, darkening my aura intentionally. Keeping my voice quiet enough so only he can hear, I whisper, “So you had better not screw this up again, correct? Oh what am I saying, I already know I am going to screw it up for you.”  
Without giving him time to answer, I turn on my heel and walk out.

Multiple times he tried to stop me. Multiple times he failed. He was more persistent this time, as though this battle actually meant something to him and wasn’t just a tool to crush the underlings. Of course, this only spurred me on more.  
It was easy to sabotage. A little whisper of the incorrect answers in a few ears, ‘accidentally’ breaking my pencil halfway through the exam and making a fuss about it, and who could forget making sure I myself made enough mistakes to guarantee I would not get any top spots. By a strange instinct, I knew Class E would not fail me either.  
Indeed, they more than surpassed my expectations. I assumed that even with my help, they would only grab one or two top spots. Yet they beat A class, 3:2.

I am lounging in my chair as he returns from the Chairman’s office. The class is murmuring, result papers loosely held in their hands, heads low at their shame. His minions are trying to comfort each other without much success at their failure, yet they fall silent as he arrives. Slamming the door open, he stalks straight over to my seat. He is riled up, a vein throbbing in his forehead, though I could tell there is more to it than that from the minute wince he gives every time he steps on his left leg. Good. I hope he suffered. 

I let a lazy smirk spread across my face as he approaches, not bothering to hide the appallingly low result papers spread out on my desk. Only in the top ten on each subject. Not even the top five. Absolutely disgraceful. Oh well, all in the name of Brother's destruction. My mental walls are up by the time he reaches me, and my brain is working double time to figure out every way this could verbal battle could go. What I don't expect is for him to grab my tie and pull me to my feet. My surprise must have flicked across my face because the entire class started muttering, if they weren’t already, and his four minions headed towards us, worried.

He completely ignores them. I don’t think he even knows they’re there. His entire focus is on me, a lazerbeam of rage. This is it. He’s finally snapped.  
“What the hell were you thinking?!” He spits.  
“I do not know what you mean.” I keep my casual, sweet tone, though I don’t bother with the smile. This is serious.  
“Asano…” Ren cautiously calls out. Dark brown kariage hairstyle, highly attractive, much like me and Asano. Poetry and humanities are his strong point, although he wastes this skill by flirting with every girl he can find. Apart from me. I have made it incredibly clear to the entire school and especially to Brother’s minions that I am off the table.

He finally seems to notice where he is. He lets go of me carefully, smoothing out my tie for me. “Could you step outside with me for a moment? It is a family matter.” He emphasises the last two words for the benefit of the class, his voice strained with the effort of appearing calm. He doesn’t wait for me to respond, taking my hand and dragging me outside.


	3. When Plans 'Succeed'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so maybe not once a day posting, but as often as possible. 5 chapters to go!
> 
> Thanks for giving this a try.
> 
> \- E.D.

He doesn’t stop there, pulling me further down the corridor and into one of the supply closets, which only he, I, and the staff have the keys to. He locks the door when we are inside, and turns to me with fully unrestrained anger.  
“This is it. You have crossed the line!” he hisses.  
I fold my arms. I’m not scared of him. Well, maybe I am, just a little, but not as much as I am of Father. We’ve always been in this constant cycle of war, sabotaging each other’s life. I don’t know why he’s had such a violent reaction this time.  
“I am only trying to break your unhealthy addiction to challenging E class. You should learn when you have lost. After all, you will need that quality when you have me as your sister.” I tease, dropping the light, friendly tones I keep around the other students.  
“You idiot!” He growls, stepping closer. “If I had won that wager, I would have found out Father’s dirty little secret, and then we would both be free of him forever! Instead you insist upon ruining me, and consequently yourself.”  
This is new.  
“Father’s dirty little secret?” I question, tilting my head. “How on earth could defeating E class have brought you to know anything more about him?”  
He pauses, his eyes boring into mine. After a moment, he lets out a derisive snort of laughter. “You haven’t noticed yet?”  
Damn it. He knows something we don't. I try to keep my face stoic, but I cannot help the glower. “Indulge me.”

He moves a little closer to me, breath brushing across my face as he speaks in a low whisper. “He is hiding something in Class E, and if I had won that wager, they would have been forced to tell me what it was.”  
“So you have no idea what it actually is?” I raise an eyebrow disapprovingly. “What if it is something that could bring the entire school down, and consequently your chances of taking it over?”  
“So be it. If I can make the Chairman grovel before me, or at least tie a collar around him as my dog, I would give up this school and much more. But thanks to your efforts, that will be much harder to do.” He growls.  
His small speech has given me a chance to collect my thoughts. I give him a sweet smile. “Thank you, brother dearest, for that valuable information. I am sure I will be able to squeeze the truth out of those puny mice before you can. The Chairman shall be brought down, but not by you, I am afraid.”  
His scowl deepens as he realises I have flipped the tables. “You dirty scum. Did you orchestrate all of this just so I would tell you?” He demands.  
Perfect, everything is falling back into your hands again. He still believes you are completely in control, and now you have something to work towards. Taking down Father.  
“Can you really expect anything less from me?” I taunt, slipping out the key from my pocket and unlocking the door.  
“The Chairman wants you in his office.”  
Those words hit me like a bullet. I knew it was coming, I just did not envision it would be this soon. “Thank you.” I reply curtly, opening the door and stepping out, feeling his euphoric gaze on my back as I march to my torture chamber and the executioner that awaits.

“Come in.” His tone is measured, as always.

I push open the door, step inside, and close it with a soft click. My heart is hammering in my chest, fingers fumbling on the door handle, but my face is blank, composed. I cannot show fear, or my punishment will be worse.  
“Step into the light, I cannot see you that far back.”  
Stiffly, I walk forward, stopping the second the light from those huge floor-to-ceiling windows hits my eyes. I examine his face carefully, searching for his mood. It is perplexing to see his eyes dancing with glee, the smile more genuine than I first thought, the centipedes writhing in triumph. Even so, his gaze on me is disapproving.  
“Now then, Mirai, I hope you understand why you are here?”  
I give a sharp nod. “Of course. My results.”  
“Do you have any excuse for your blatant effort to fail deliberately?”  
“I failed so it ensured Gakushuu would fail.” There’s no point hiding it. In fact, this way he cannot ridicule me too much. He has brought me up to carry out these sabotages, so there is no way he can criticize me for them.  
“I see.” He stands. “I suppose you thought you were clever, yes? By sabotaging yourself you sabotaged him. However, you clearly do not understand that you should only sabotage an enemy when it benefits you.”  
He walks around the desk leisurely, enjoying my palpable unease. His precise footsteps halt beside me. I do not turn, my eyes fixated on the back of his vacant chair.  
“Luckily for you, your brother’s failure was to my satisfaction. I doubt you knew that, however, and therefore you must have realised the success of E class would have been a thorn in my side.” He pauses. “Arm, if you please.”  
Without pausing or fumbling, I unbutton my cardigan and let it slip to the floor, revealing the neat uniform scars that run down my arms. He has never cut over an old wound before, so each of them represents a different moment in my life. The first scar is still there, faded over time, but the ‘treatment’ he applied to all my cuts makes sure they never heal properly. It is symbolic, in a way, of how he feels I can never be free of him.  
He examines over it carefully, taking it gently. In some way, his tenderness in touching me is worse than if he had grabbed my arm roughly. My stomach flips, repulsed by his touch, yet I stay frozen. He turns it over, looking for spare space, but the years have covered it completely. It would be impossible to make another cut without crossing over an older one.  
“Congratulations. You seem to have made so many errors that we have to move onto your legs. Take a seat.” He lets go of my arm and gestures to the desk surface.  
“But they’ll be visible.” I turn my head to look at him finally, letting a small frown cross my features.  
“You have longer socks than these, correct? Take a seat.” This time his tone is more forceful.  
Stepping forward again, I push myself up to sit on his desk, my feet dangling a few centimeters from the plush carpet. He kneels down, folding down my socks with the care of a father preparing his toddler for their first day at school.  
I don’t hate the cuts. As a matter of fact, a part of me enjoys seeing the ruby droplets bloom up on my pale skin, and the sharp pain that freezes my brain’s usual manic speed. What I do hate about these sessions is his utterly unpredictable actions, and his poisonous centipedes crawling over my pickling skin. Nonetheless, I let out small gasps of pain and bite my lip hard for the benefit of the Chairman. If he knew I was not detesting every second, he would find another punishment, something a lot worse.  
My frozen brain sharpens, the usual mess of activity and potential sharpening through the pain into one line of thought. He has a secret, and the E class know it. Why do they keep it hidden? They must get something out of it. Does it have something to do with their sudden increasing success rate? They have never succeeded before, so it must do. Why doesn’t the Chairman stop trying to beat them using his students and instead cut the problem off at the head? There must be something stopping him directly affecting whatever this secret is. So that means this secret can control him, or can be used in blackmail or something similar. Therefore, if I know what the secret is, I could potentially blackmail him into...the possibilities are endless.  
The next cut is deeper, snapping my attention back to the present. I make sure to let out a gasp, grimacing. Was I gasping while I was thinking? I don’t know. I just pray he didn’t notice.

The bell rings. We stand in unison, the teacher dismissing us, and march in single file out the door. As usual, clumps of girls are hovering just outside the entrance by the time I am there, wanting me to choose one group of them to walk with. They are my only excuse not to use the family car, yet this time I have something more important to do. Walking past all of them, I wander round to the side of the school building, ignoring their disappointed faces.  
There I wait, lurking in the shadows like a wolf ready to pounce. My brain flicks through my basic plan of attack, any questions they might ask, how to appeal to them the most, how to make them like me yet not see me as a threat. This point is crucial. I have my first opening to make a move, and if I mess this up, I am unlikely to receive another chance. Plan A revolves around this first meeting. I must focus.  
I wipe the scowl from my face as I hear bright voices and footsteps drawing near. Glancing up, I run over their names in my head. Nagisa Shiota, Keade Kayano, Yuma Isogai. Perfect, I was able to examine them in the library. Yet there is one more that I was praying did not show. Karma Akabane. Brother’s new nemesis. It is strangely irritating to me when, instead of finding plans to sabotage me in Brother’s room, I find plans to sabotage this red-headed devil instead. I can understand why, of course. He has always scored highly, even without putting in much effort at all. That in itself must be aggravating to Brother, who has always had to work hard for everything, even if it does come easier to him than most.  
I take a deep breath, softening my body, lifting my mouth into a bright but shy smile. Akabane notices me first, a smirk spreading across his face at my shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair and amethyst eyes as I step out of the shade. They stop as I stand opposite them, one hand clutching the strap of my bag awkwardly.  
Play the innocent one. The shy one. If they believe I am truly like that, they will feel naturally inclined to help me and become my friend, while also thinking you are too weak to truly oppose them. The quiet one is always brushed aside as invisible. That’s just the way life works.  
One shot.   
I can do this.


	4. Plan A Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! Finally, class 3E will be actually interacting with her.
> 
> Enjoy!  
\- E.D.

“Well well well, if it isn’t the asshole’s other half.” The red-headed devil chuckles, voice sardonic.  
“If you are referring to my twin, I would not call us two halves of a whole.” I reply, raising the pitch and lowering the dynamics of my tone. “In fact, I wanted to congratulate you on defeating him today! It is quite an accomplishment.”  
They look at each other suspiciously, clearly wondering why I was so openly showing detestation for Brother.

“I would have thought an A class prick like you would be ashamed at such an abysmal failure, but it seems like you're so dumb you can't even understand the concept!” His eyes are challenging. Though he speaks in plainer words than Brother, his intent is the same.  
Keep calm. You need them on your side.  
“I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am not as power hungry and sensitive as my unfortunately misguided brother. I prefer to succeed only if it benefits others. In this case, it did not.” I had practiced this excuse a hundred times in my head, perfecting it to sound the most morally good I could make it.  
He snorts. “Really? Those results you have been getting the rest of the time didn't say that.” He points out, eyes narrowing skeptically as he strolls forward.  
He is becoming too much of an issue. You need to get the others involved and stop this verbal battle.

“I did not come here to argue. I wanted to extend a hand of support, and to apologize for ignoring the poor treatment that has been given to you for so long. You deserve better, as you have so clearly shown with these results.” I address this to the others.  
Again, they look perplexed.  
“No offense, but why do you want to help us now? You've never spoken to us before.” Isogai questions. The other two nod in agreement.  
“As I am sure you have noticed, the rest of the school is starting to pay attention to you now. Not all of us hate you. And I am always up to help hardworking students!” I explain.  
This finally seems to break through into their thick skulls.  
“The first thing you can do is give us a proper cafeteria!” Kayano complains in her high voice.  
I raise my smile a little. “I do not know if I can do that, I am afraid. The Chairman does not give special permission to his children to change the school. I wish I could be of more help, but I am unable to affect most things like those.” I admit apologetically.

I feel the blue haired girl focus her gaze on me more intently at this miniscule snapshot of my family life. Determined not to be unnerved by this sudden clenching in my stomach, I refuse to meet her eyes, instead looking back at Akabane.  
“Shame. Having a daddy's girl would be useful in taking down the main campus.” He sighs dramatically, aggressive aura softened to a lazy superiority.  
I giggle gently. “Well, I suppose I could still be helpful in regards of closeness to him. I live in the same house, after all. If you need anything, call me. My number is on this.” I hand over a small business card that I always carry a stack of in my pocket.  
He takes it, flicking his eyes over it with a snort. “We're never gonna use it, you know that, right?”  
I shrug, turning away and starting to walk off, adding an upbeat bounce to my step. “Just in case you do, keep it. Who knows? Maybe it will come in useful someday.”

I hear them mutter between themselves as I depart, but my job here is done. They can think what they like, as long as they do not turn away the next time I meet one of them. No doubt they will tell their classmates about this. However, for now I shall stick to focusing on those four.  
Akabane. He's a sharp one, sadistic, an enemy of Brother and will therefore be very cautious of me. Too cautious. I would rather not start with him, he could sniff out my true intentions too easily.  
Kayano. Sweet, bright girl, seems to be dumb enough to fool. I shall have to look closer into her files, though getting close to a friendly girl like her should be simple.

Isogai. Charming, polite, and from what I've heard, struggling to make ends meet. He may be more tolerable to make friends with than the rest, and will no doubt be grateful for any financial support I could offer. His humbleness will at first make him turn away the money, but when he does accept it, he will no doubt feel indebted to me.  
And Nagisa. I thought I knew her type, but there is something different, unnatural, slithering inside her. That sharp gaze she gave me when I told them the Chairman did not give me special treatment. It was rare for me to be unnerved even by my own family, let alone a quiet weak little thing from class E. No, it is better to stay away from her for now.  
My targets acquired, I begin to run through my skeleton plans, building them up with flesh and muscles, layering them in perfect skin, until I have my own Frankenstein’s monster standing in wait. I shall not fail. The Chairman's demise grows ever closer, and it shall be E class who unknowingly push him into the pit. All I need to do is set my creature upon these wretched unsuspecting souls, and they will be wrapped in wire for me to pull upon.

It was a little difficult to track down places to meet them outside of school, as the holidays had just begun, but I managed to find out a few of their favourite places. The first 'accidental’ meeting is in a corner shop by school, a popular hangout for those like Kayano. Pastel pink coat over my usual conservative clothing, I hover around the store, switching aisles whenever I felt a suspicious eye on me.

She enters just as I was beginning to lose hope, heading straight for the snack aisle and reaching out a hand to grab a pot of pudding. Of course. Picking up a random drink, I wander in the direction of the counter as she begins to move there. I pick the exact moment I would have spotted her to call out.  
“Kayano!”  
She jumps in surprise, spinning around to face me. As her eyes pass over me, I note her momentary confusion at my bright smile designed to look as though I was delighted to see her.  
“Oh, hey!” She covers over her lapse unnaturally rapidly, as though pulling a mask over her face. That's interesting.  
“How are you?” I come closer to her, but make sure to keep the bubble of space around me that shy people usually do.  
“I'm good, thanks. And you?” She returns, practically hopping from one foot to the other in impatience.  
“I'm great!” I need to keep her here a while longer. “I heard E class was going on vacation together?”  
She nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, to Okinawa! Since we won top spot in the-” she halts as she remembers I would be on that trip if not for them.  
I giggle lightly, brushing it off despite the sting to my pride. “It is fine to talk about that with me, remember? I am happy you get the chance to go there. I have already been there far too many times, and I think your class deserve to see it!”

She sighs in relief. “Do you really have no objections to not going?” She questions dramatically.  
Grinning ruefully, I lean in towards her as though to share a secret. “To tell the truth, I am a little envious. It is bliss to get away from all the pressures of school.” I whisper to her confidentially. These people do not want a perfect model student like the rest of the school do. To make them like me, I have to make up minor flaws, masking myself as an average human.  
She nods knowingly, eyes wide as though seeing me in a new light. “Totally. I don't know how you put up with all that stress from everyone's expectations.”  
Fool. Everyone's expectations are far lower than what we are capable of.  
“What I love to do is get out a few times a week, and sing or dance off all the weight on my shoulders. That sweet release is the thing I carry on for, look forward to, to get me through.”  
She gives me a kind smile, unintentionally letting the pity slip through. “Who do you usually do that with? I mean, I see you with friends all the time, but they're always changing.”  
I pause, as if to think. I am cautious to go down this route, seeing as it is partly true, yet this is a game changer. Any person with her kind and confident personality could never leave a lonely pressured girl by herself without trying to help.  
“I...usually go by myself.”  
The seeping pity in her smile leaks faster and stronger. “Why? You have so many friends…”  
“There's a difference between friends and people using me for higher grades.” I comment quietly, lowering my head and dropping my gaze to the floor.  
There is a tense silence as she struggles with herself. “I'll come with you!”

Sharply, I lift my head to meet her pitying stare. “R-really?”  
“Yes!” She grows stronger in speech. “Where do you usually go?”  
“The karaoke club downtown. Most times, I hire the private room.” I sneak doubt onto my features. “But don't you have other plans on Friday night?”  
She tilts her head, looking off. “Well, I was planning to meet Okuda, but I'm sure she would be happy to come along. Only if that's fine with you?”  
Hesitantly, I nod in reply. “That would...that would be great! Thank you so much! I can not wait!” Smiling sweetly and gratefully, I bow a touch.  
“Geez, you don't have to be that grateful…” she rolls her eyes, though I can tell she is pleased.

We carry on the conversation until I feel she is comfortable in my presence. Then I make up an excuse to leave, dropping the persona the second I am out of sight. She is exhausting. I am only glad that she is not my true friend. The pity she feels for me should be given to her unfortunate classmates, who have to deal with her constantly.  
Friday night goes according to plan, Okuda encouraged enough to open up, adjusting to me when we screech karaoke like untamed cats. To make myself more human, I deliberately tone my beautiful birdsong voice to a key a tad off the actual note. It was torture. As long as the two girls enjoyed it, however, I am satisfied.

In the meantime, I gradually get closer to Isogai, and any other friends of his I happen to bump into along the way. He is a useful source for them, and as class representative, he holds their respect and good judgement. When he introduces me, it's hard for them to be too suspicious. In this way, I infiltrate class E.


	5. The Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down, three more to go.
> 
> Mirai will recieve quite the shock...
> 
> Thank you for reading my work, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter!  
\- E.D.

It is only after they depart for vacation that my attention is wrenched back to my family.  
We are in our dining room, silently choking down our evening meal, when the Chairman breaks the spell. “Happen to have made any new friends during the vacation so far, Mirai?” His tone is light, as though the question really is as innocent as this.  
“A few.” I return nonchalantly.  
Brother's face lines with curiosity at this flippant conversation, evidently wondering why the Chairman is asking such a menial question.  
“Strange story: I was driving down the main street yesterday morning and I could have sworn that the person you were so closely chatting to was Hiroto Maehara, of Class 3-E.” His tone sharpens at the end.  
Brother's eyes widen as he scowls at me, knowing what I had been doing.

“You were not mistaken, sir. It was Maehara.”  
“I thought so. Now, imagine how many other people may have seen that: my very own daughter conspiring with known delinquents and the lowest scoring students in the entire school. It is not a very good image, now is it?”  
“No, sir.”  
“I expect not to see that image again. Who knows what trouble may come if I do.”  
And that's it. Discussion closed. In only a few short sentences, he had eliminated any hope of carrying out plan A. Next up, plan B. After that, C, then D, then E, and so on. He could never stop me, no matter how many flimsy threats he gave.

Once the Chairman left the table, I rapidly stood and departed too, avoiding Brother's intrusive interrogation. Lying my back against my closed bedroom door, I slid to the floor, pulling out my phone to commence plan B. I don't have any time to waste.  
I start by texting each of the E students in turn, trying to find one who wasn't busy. Most replied, but only stayed for the length of a few short texts before disappearing once again. I suppose it is understandable. There is so much to do on that island, too much to fit into their relatively short trip without having to cram it all in on a strict schedule. However, I have a niggling instinct that the Chairman's secret has something to do with it. After all, every single E class student is there, along with their teachers, so they must be busy doing whatever the secret is. It is irritating. I cannot ask them over text, so I simply have to rot away impatiently here until they return, at which point I can casually start slipping it into conversation.  
The holiday passes in this way: locking myself away in my room, texting the students, plotting how to find the secret, creating backup plans, and figuring out exactly what I will do with this delicious blackmail. This is the best part. Creating the most devious, painful, humiliating demands for my torturer and abusive master, wrenching the strings from around my limbs to wind them around his scrawny neck and pull and pull and pull until the life is squeezed from every vein in his manipulative twisted body!

I apologise. I sometimes get a tad carried away.

However, our time off school is soon coming to a close. Now I have established myself among them, I need to find a way for them to trust me. Unfortunately, that requires me knowing more about them, so I can help them with whatever issues they are dealing with. Unless I want to risk stalking them, that consequently requires reading their official files that the Chairman keeps on every student in school. Perilous, I know, except I don’t have much of a choice. Moreover, the retribution he gives for any insubordination is never enough to deter me. The carvings on my skin no longer feel like such a penalty.  
This inevitable deed reaches griping tentacles climbing into my stomach, compressing into a writhing knot that vibrates every time I wander past the Chairman’s study door. I know he had moved Class E’s files there after he discovered Brother’s attempts to know the truth. All day I waited for him to leave the house. Just as it hit nine o’clock, I heard the front door click open and closed, locking automatically. Finally.

Without wasting a second, I darted out my door and to his study, bursting through and looking about wildly. Why does he have so many drawers?! Heart racing, I begin rifling through them, hands shaking as I reduced my speed to make sure I did not bend or rip any paper. He would notice in a second. One cabinet down. Onto the next. I wish I had more time to look over all these files, but for now, I have to stick to my mission! Time is ticking, my movements trembling and panicked, sweat gathering on my neck. My heart drops as I hear the front door click open. Why is he back so quickly? Has he left something? Has he left something in the office? My throat contracts tightly, wrenching the air from my lungs, choking me until stars spark in front of my eyes. His clear footsteps ring across the marble entranceway, heading to the stairs. Move you idiot! I shriek internally. My petrified body ignores my screams, rooted to the spot like a rabbit caught in the headlights. If the Chairman catches you here you are more than dead! 

The footsteps stop. Oh god! Has he heard you already? I wish your heart would shut up! A chinking, metal on metal. Keys. Oh thank god… His footsteps trace back to the door. Click. Open. Click. Closed. I collapse to the floor in relief, a shaking mess of gasping breaths. After a couple seconds, I force a deep breath in and out. Calm down. You don't have time for this. Standing, I continue on flicking through the files in his drawers until-  
'Karma Akabane’. Yes! Triumphant grin spreading across my face, I pull out the drawer fully, rifling through the files and grabbing those I recognize the names of. Excluding Akabane and Shiota obviously. Flipping open the first file, I begin to read. 'Yuzuki Fuwa’. Interested in becoming a manga editor. That should be relatively easy to help with. If I simply take her to a convention, tell them my last name and ask to see the right people, her career could be kick started within a month. Noting this down in my head, I place her file back in the drawer and open the next.

Time flies by far too quickly. Before I know it, I hear the car pull up outside. This time I am ready, however, carefully placing the remaining files back in the drawer regretfully. I slip out the door and back into my room just as the click of the opening door sounds downstairs. I wait, back pressed against the wood, straining my ears to hear his footsteps echo up the stairs and into his study. Nothing...no gasp, no growl, no sudden silence...nothing. Hah! My face splits into a sly smirk. The old fool cannot even tell when their own 'secure’ lair has been raided. I am beginning to wonder why I was even worried in the first place.

Oh how wrong I was. The night passed with my hazy smug pleasure at having outwitted the Chairman himself. Plans were drawn up on how to use this vital information I had gathered, how I could subtly suggest they would owe me a debt for it, how I could pose the question of what this secret was without seeming too suspicious. I wake up the next morning in lazy bliss, eager for the next day where I could set these new plans in motion. The sun creeps in through a crack in my heavy curtains, like a ray of hope through a long oppressed domain. My glimmering eyes follow a particle of hair dancing through the shifting air, ignorant of any danger threatened by the watching girl below. Quick as a sparrow, I dart out a hand and grab it between forefinger and thumb, curious at the way it wriggles as though to desperately free itself. No use. I shall hold it forevermore.

There comes a sharp knock at my door. “Your father would like to see you in his study.” The butler announces, then hurries off, knowing I would take out my sudden frustration on him if he stayed any longer.  
Shame. My spoiled good mood had been so glorious. With a light sigh, I let the hair go, to dance once again on the invisible flurries of air. Pulling my hair into a messy bun, I collect my outfit hanging from behind my door, newly ironed by the departed butler. The touch of warm fabric is my only comfort as I march down the carpeted corridor, mind sharpening and rolling over itself to try and figure out why I had been called. I halt in front of the door, raising my hand to knock, pinning a respectful sweet smile to my face.  
“Come in.”  
As I press the door closed behind me, I see he has a pile of files in front of him on the desk. The closer I come, the more I can make out of the name upon it. 'Yuzuki Fuwa’. No! How could he- but I- There's no-! Broken half-thoughts rampage my trampled brain, wrenching it apart to find the answer, yet I have none to give. My smile tightens somewhat, and I turn my gaze to the Chairman. He is leaned back in his high backed chair, knowing leer painted across his face.  
“I see you wanted to find out more about your new friends. Oh wait, did you forget? They are not your friends. Are they?”  
“No, of course not, sir. I do not know what you mean, however, when you say I wanted to find out more about them.” I reply, tone even and bright.  
“Come now, surely you have realised by now that you cannot lie to me.”  
“It is not a lie.”

His eyes flash as he leans forward on his elbows. “There is nothing more intolerable than when a cat looks smug after smashing a plate or two. Especially when the master has seen the cat do this, yet it refuses to accept this, instead slinking off to wreak more havoc.”  
I disagree. I know of something more intolerable. Your uninventive metaphors.  
He softly turns his laptop to me. Covering the screen is a photo taken from CCTV, of the study yesterday. I am in the centre, open files spread across the floor in front of me. CCTV? Since when?!  
“This cannot be ignored, Mirai. Yet again, you disobey me. Not only do you maintain contact with the students I expressly forbid you from communicating with, you then decide to break into my own study to gather classified information.”  
I remain silent, smile wiped from my stone face.  
He pushes himself up to stand, strolling around the desk to stand in front of me. “You must receive the correct punishment for your crimes.”  
Without even bothering to argue, I crouch down and begin to fold down one sock.  
“Oh no, that will not do. You clearly do not feel the effects of that any more, as our last session revealed to me.”

I glance up, unable to stop fear passing across my face. He did notice. Idiot! How could you forget? Now you will truly pay the price. His malevolent grin spreads like a bloodstain on cloth as he beckons me to look at a slip of paper upon a table to the side of the room. Standing cautiously, I make my way towards it and look it over. The paper is a form, for the transferral of Kotaro Takebayashi from Class 3-E into Class 3-A. Bewilderment written across my face, I face the Chairman, who only seems more entertained.  
“I do not understand. There are not enough places in my class for another member to join us.”  
He lets out a rich chuckle. “Oh Mirai. I have not raised a fool. Think for yourself for once.”  
A student moving into a class without a spare place. Unless he is making a spare place. My punishment.  
I scowl at him. “This is preposterous. You have no grounds upon which to move me down to 3-B. My grades are top in the school next to Gakushuu's. Even with my recent failure, I was still high enough to remain in the top class.”

His chuckle grows. “Not Class 3-B, Mirai.” A dawning dread seeps into my gut. “I thought since you were making so many friends there and were so unnaturally interested in them, you would prefer to be moved down to Class 3-E instead.”  
Moved down to Class 3-E.  
Down to Class 3-E.  
To Class 3-E.  
Class 3-E.  
3-E.  
...

“Come now, you really should not look so shocked. After all, stealing classified information is a criminal act. Disobeying your master is a criminal act of the foulest kind. I cannot keep a criminal sullying the ranks of the elite.”  
All of a sudden, my empty mind fills with a rush of noise. It takes all of my will not to clutch at my head or scream out in pain at the spasmodic pressure driving against my skull. He found you! How could you not check for CCTV?! Now you're going to be with those slow minded average scum! Your chance of a good school record is ruined! Everything you've built up will wash away! No admirers! No privileges! No good teachers! No respect! No good grades! Nightmare classmates! Nightmare building! Nightmare education! Nightmare life because you could not learn to look about you! Silly, stupid, oblivious, despicable, dumb, emotional, foolish wreck of a childish girl!  
“You can't do this.” Four words is all I can manage. Weak. Pathetic. Not even an argument. Not worth a reply.

“I assure you, I can. The sting of humiliation for me will be a lot less than it will be for you.” Shark teeth shining from his twisted smirk, he glides back to his desk. “I would advise you to be ready to go out in about an hour or so. There are some special measures to be taken before you join this particular class.”  
The secret. After all this, he is simply handing the treasure over to me? My eyes scan over him as he lowers himself into his seat, once again ignoring me. But of course. In Class E, no one listens to you. Delinquents and idiots. Now I am of their number, any dirt I have on him will be spat at and rejected as false.  
Legs trembling, I force myself out of the door and down the corridor into my room. Even there, I will not relax and open the floodgates, for I recognise that I shall drown in them. No, I will not let myself be consumed in my own thoughts. There is always something to focus on. A plan that I have prepared for this very scenario. Something to slow this hurricane of noise inside my brain. Anything. Please…


	6. The Key

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters to go...
> 
> Enjoy!  
\- E.D.

I am completely composed by the time I am called to the guest’s living room. People in black suits and sunglasses stand around a sofa, only one seated on it. Serene, I traipse to the opposite sofa and lower myself into it, face a mask of indifference.  
“Miss Asano. We are here to-”  
“Yes, I know. So what is it?”  
He looks perturbed by my soft abruptness, but presents me with a thin file. I accept it and flip it open, scanning down it. A single slip of paper, one picture in the middle. As I process the information, annoyance and scorn builds within me.  
“Is this a joke?” I scowl, lowering the file and glaring at the man.  
“No. This is perfectly real. As you can see, our situation is a desperate one. Break the non-disclosure clause, and you will be subject to a memory wipe.”

No wonder the Chairman was so eager to send me there. Even though I know the secret, I cannot tell anyone or I will not know it anymore. Clever. Either way, I now have nothing, despite my best attempts, to take him down with. Only a plea for an assassin to take down some sort of alien creature,   
which looks like a kid’s toy, who is due to blow up the Earth just after graduation. I cannot help but let out a short burst of bitter laughter. My world is over anyway, so what is the point in trying to defend everyone else’s? Then I read the bottom line, and without warning my hopeless predicament turns on its head. Ten billion yen reward. Ten billion yen.

“This money...will it be mine and mine alone? Not my parent’s?”  
“Yes. If you manage to kill him, the ten billion yen is yours only. If you manage to kill him along with your classmates, the reward becomes thirty billion.”  
Target locked and ready to fire. Literally. With that amount of money, I could be free of him and create my own school to crush his. The humiliation of being moved to the lowest class pales in comparison to the amount of pain and embarrassment he is in for. For the first time since he called me into his office, a sickly smile twists my face. The decrepit ignoramus has unknowingly just handed me the keys to his destruction. And believe me, I will not hesitate to use them.

The next day passes restlessly. The Chairman allows me to return a day later, so I can adjust properly. What he really means is dwell in my misery alone for an entire day, locked in my room. Of course, I have other ideas. I refuse to rest for a millisecond, drafting my new set of plans and backup plans and backup plans for the backup plans. By the time the sun clambers above the horizon on the day I return, I have everything set, straining at the leashes to race ahead. All items from my previous plan have been abandoned, of course. The friendship with the students will not help me in any way in my new plan. People are too unpredictable, especially a class of trainee assassins, therefore I would have to adjust so many plans if they wavered on their course. In addition to that, all of them are far too tiresome to deal with all day. I much prefer working solo.

My concentration is such that I almost forget the time, yet luckily my alarm had been preset. Despite this, I had to rush my usual routine due to the long hike up the mountain ahead of me. Uniform on and hair tied into two messy yet stylish buns, I swing my bag onto my shoulder and head to the door.  
“Class E, huh?” Brother's voice echoes from behind me.  
I stop in my tracks. I do not have time for your childish jaunts, Brother! Turning sharply on my heel, I pin a deliberately fake grin on my face, more akin to a grimace than a warm smile.  
“Yes, it seems that will be my new class now.”  
He is seated on the bottom step of the wide staircase, toast in hand. Bringing it to his mouth, he bites down on it thoughtfully. “You know, now you are down with the cockroaches, you could scrabble in the muck with them and find that little shiny secret we discussed.” He muses.

Lips stretched tight, I reply through sharp white teeth. “I already know it.”  
He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Good for you! Well, maybe not for you. No one will believe a rat like you now, however, you fortunately still have a brother who can make use of the secret.” He holds out a hand, beckoning me. “Tell me what it is, and I might be benevolent enough to throw you a bone when the Chairman grovels at my feet.”  
At this, I curl my lip and hiss lightly. “Like hell I would ever help you!”

With his low laugh ringing in my ears, I slam the door behind me, and look about for the usual gaggle of girls who wait for me in this part of the neighborhood. No one. I shouldn't be surprised, word spreads quickly, and any student in Class E is to be avoided like the plague. No matter, I prefer to walk alone anyway. My face smoothes out as the cold wind slams into it, flood tides washing away my rampant thoughts, fighting my constant inner battle for me. Without the pointless noise of chattering 'friends’ around me, I can indulge in the empty mindless frost of a cold breeze. My pace is brisk, wispy strands of hair blown back, the rush of air drowning out any sounds my feet make on the pavement. Buildings and streets pass by, silent and watchful, the trees lining the walkways whispering together as I roam underneath.

Soon the school building approaches, and no longer can I avoid the blatant stares of my old admirers, now wondering how on earth their powerful idol has fallen so far from grace. My chin tilted upwards, I march past them defiantly, heading to the mountain trail. Unfortunately, this clear message does not seem to penetrate the minds of some, who bound up to me, bloodhounds lustful for the last scraps of my reputation.  
“Is it true you are moving to Class E?”  
“Why are you being sent there?”  
“My sister said you stole the Chairman's files!”  
“Why didn't you tell us?”  
“Where have you been all holiday?”  
“What does Takebayashi have that you don't?”  
“Is it true you moved there because you liked the people there better than us?!”

Exasperated, I hold out both hands sharply, silencing their onslaught of questions.  
“Yes, I am moving to Class E. It is because I wanted to see their quality of education and hopefully help them in their studies and emotional management, so they can follow in Takebayashi's footsteps. I spent the holidays planning for ways to approach this issue. No, of course I do not prefer them. I have no preferences, you should know that. Now, if you will please excuse me, I must head to my first lesson. I do not want to be late due to my schoolmates’ inability to trust me.”  
They all look suitably ashamed enough for me to depart, breaking free of the swarm to head into the wilderness. 

I can barely stand with exhaustion by the time the campus comes into view. That damn mountain! I don’t understand how the students manage to climb it every single day. The place is an utter dump, clearly dilapidating before my very eyes. Not a secure place of nurturing education at all. Wiping the sheen of sweat from my forehead, I roll my shoulders back and force myself to stand straight and slow my breathing. I cannot show weakness, even when they already know I do not do exercise. By rights, I should not have even been allowed to climb the hill due to the risk of my ‘weak heart’ giving out, yet  
I suppose anyone so far removed from the main campus will not know that. Straightening out my uniform, I march to the front doors, frustrated at the way my legs are trembling.

The low melancholy chatter of the students reach me from the classroom, meaningless noise that is easily ignored. Fending them off should be easy, especially as they are used to my shy persona. A confident harsh leader like my true personality should feel unnatural to them, forcing them to take a step back and reassess me. My thoughts focused on this, I slide open the door and stride in, eyes sweeping over the room.  
They are positioned around an empty desk, clearly where the boy used to sit. As I come in, they move away, as though guilty they are mourning the loss of another student when a new one is there. The room falls mostly silent, though the faces gazing back at me are mainly smiles, despite the obvious strain behind them. Kayano lifts a hand in a wave. 

A dark haired, stiff male, clearly part of the government, stands in the teacher’s place. His eyes study me, professional training taking in my stance and tiny furrow in my brow.  
“You must be Mirai Asano, the new student.” he states, body tense. Clearly he knows the Chairman well enough to be wary of his daughter.  
“Yes.” I respond, voice at my normal strong tone. And...there it is. The confused glances, unsure of what has happened to the fake person they knew. This is me, idiots. You are just going to have to adjust to it.  
“I’m Mr Karasuma, your PE teacher.”  
Makes sense. The government would want one of their own to train the students accordingly. No doubt PE here is a lot different to what happens down at the main campus.

“When do I get to meet the target?”  
“I think he’s in Italy right now.” Kayano chips in. “He said he was going to find the best ice cream!”  
“When do you expect him to be back by?” I question her, tone indifferent, as if I am speaking to a complete stranger.  
She hesitates, taken aback. “Uh...thirty minutes or so?”  
I nod, turning my attention back to the rest of the class. “Where should I sit, sir?”  
Their eyes all flick to the boy's empty seat, wondering if the teacher would have the gall to place me there.  
“Next to Karma, but not Terosika.”  
There is an almost audible sigh of relief.

The red haired sadist grins, leaned back in his chair casually. Great. Now I have to put up with his jibes. Chin tilted upwards, I march past the rest of the class, brushing aside any attempts to communicate with me, and slide myself into the seat, staring straight ahead. Even so, I can still sense his mischievous eyes dancing over that irritating simper.  
“The queen has been brought down from the top into the slum, eh?” He mutters.  
I do not give him the satisfaction of a response.  
“Not a talker? That's ok. I can talk for both of us. You know, there's a bunch of rumours going around about how you've been pulled down here, but I'm sure you'd rather we don't get the wrong idea, right?”

“It is none of your business. I am here, and that is that.”  
He snorts. “So it's true your dear daddy sent you here because you butchered his dog?”  
Appalled, I spin to glare at him. “Of course not! What purpose would that serve? Utter foolishness to even permit gossip like that to go about anyone!”  
The amused twinkle in his eye sparks as he shrugs. “It's hard to distinguish truth from lies when the person themself refuses to tell us…”  
“Fine.” Time to turn this verbal battle around to make me look superior. “I demanded to be transferred because I wanted a shot at killing him.”

He whistles softly, eyebrows raised. “You expect me to believe that? As if you would give up your high horse for simple money purposes. You already have so much, what could you possibly do with more?”  
“Your mistake is assuming I am in it for the money.” Little white lies. I don't know why I tell them, especially to this class who cannot use this information, but I hate anyone knowing the relationship between me and my family. It exposes weaknesses I cannot afford to be known.  
“The glory, then? No one will know about it after he is dead, the government is good at hiding stuff like this. Not only that, you are in Class E. There is no glory here.”  
“Not the glory. The chance to kill the unkillable.” Perfect. This makes me sound dangerous, recklessly ambitious.  
He chuckles at this, obviously accepting it. “Ah. That sort of person, are you? What happened to the poor little baby girl the others were telling us about?”  
“You should learn to recognise a mask when you see one.” I reply coldly, turning midway through to glower at the open stares of the others.

At that moment, a powerful breeze whips through the classroom. As it settles, I finally see him standing next to Karasuma. The creature that is my new target.


	7. Class 3-E

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been really busy lately, sorry for the late update. 
> 
> Chapter seven... one more to go!  
Enjoy!  
\- E.D.

It stands nine foot, ten inches tall, yellow tentacles positioned around a bulbous head smeared with a curled beam. The eyes are two tiny black dots, no visible nose or nostrils, and it is clothed in a black academic dress and a ridiculous little hat with a yellow tassel. The expression and unusual body parts of an octopus makes it impossible to determine mood or comfort. The creature immediately turns its head to where I perch upon my chair, and in the blink of an eye is beside me. Mach twenty. 

By my calculations, it took him around 24 minutes and 54.9297 seconds to get from Italy to Japan. At the point he set off I would have been walking at around 3 miles per hour towards the school building. Impressive, sure, but I am under no impression that he is any smarter than me. My body might not be able to move as quickly as his, yet my brain is an entirely different story. That idle unnecessary calculation took less time than he did to get to my seat from the window.  
“Miss Asano, correct? I have heard a lot about you from my other students.” Its tone is calm, friendly, clearly designed especially to make me feel comfortable. I will not fall for these simple tricks.  
“I am afraid their judgement may be a tad misguided.” I reply, standing to face him. “There are many differences to who I am and who I want to make myself appear to be. I am sure you, of all beings, understand that.” There is no point hiding my true self to make him lower his guard. It is clear to me he is not the sort of teacher who leaves their class in between lessons, and keeping the facade up all day would be too tiresome. Moreover, he knows I am there to kill him. He will never lower his guard.

At my words, there is a definite pause. “What would make you think that?” It is shaken, I can somehow sense that, although its body does not change. Why would this make it so uncertain? I do not believe for one second that none of the students have tested its mask. Unless…  
They trust it.  
“A monster playing teacher. This whole thing reeks of smoke that seems to be blinding everyone. You forget who I live with. I can see through the little white lies and smiles! Inside, you know who you are, even if everyone around you cannot.” I tilt my head to address the class. “I think you may have forgotten the fact it is ready to blow up the world. It is preparing you for your death, not for your future.”  
A sea of indignant scowls glare back at me.

“His name is Koro Sensei. And he is preparing us for our future after he is dead. Just because you live with a monster doesn’t mean everyone is.” Maehara responds, protective.  
“It’s alright, children.” Koro Sensei jumps in. “She has a valid point. Although, you are wrong on some parts.” His face abruptly splits into half red, half purple. The red has a circle on it, and the purple a cross. “I’m going to blow up the world, yes, but I’m not faking acting as a teacher. That role is my entire life.”  
I raise an eyebrow in disbelief. “We’ll see.”

The lesson begins. I do not pay attention to anything else apart from the creature, observing every tiny trait as closely as possible. It appears the changing facial features are common, reflecting a correct or incorrect answer along with his general mood. When I have absorbed everything I think I can, I turn my study to the students. They are focused in their work, surprisingly so, regarding their reputation. The octopus appears to be the motivation for their hard work, encouraging and nurturing, understanding each individual students’ strengths and targets. I cannot help but be admiring of his dedication. Not many teachers, even those with a speed of mach twenty, would go so far for their students.

The aggravating slacker beside me seeks to engage me in another skirmish throughout the lesson after he realises I am not participating in the learning, not realising that I am doing my own independent study. I evade all his attacks with a few words or simply turning my head away. He will be an irritating nuisance if he keeps on this way. Therefore, I start to develop a side plan in the remainder of the lesson to get rid of him, or at least stop him jabbering away.  
The lesson finally comes to the end, and I gather together my papers and stand, slinging my bag onto my shoulder. The students gather in their individual clumps and traipse out, chattering. Those I had connected with give me hesitant glances, decide against it, and leave with the rest. Once they are all out, I head to the door too, planning to find a quiet space to plot.

“Wait.”  
I know that voice. Rio Nakamura. Tensing up, I haltingly turn to face her. For a few strained seconds, we stare at each other, the distance between us as wide as the sea.

“It has been a long time.” I comment.  
“Drop the act. I want answers.”  
“I have not given you any answers for three years. I am not planning to now.”  
“I just wanna know why you did it!”  
“I think you already do. You do not need me to spell it out for you, you are smart enough to figure it out on your own. At least, you were. Now... I am not so sure.”  
I face the door once more, closing the conversation.

“What have you become, Mirai?” She questions, exasperated, more to herself than to me.  
How dare you use my first name! We are not that close anymore.  
“I have not become anything. This is who I was, who I am, who I will be.” I walk to the doorframe and pause, glancing back. “I cannot afford to waste any more time on you, Nakamura. This is the last time we talk.”  
With that, I leave.

Break time is spent under a tree a distance away from the rest of them, studying a book on assassination I picked up last night. It appears I have much to learn if I am to pull this off, and little time in which to do it. I have no doubt I will be able to do it, however this is a whole new range of skills I have yet to perfect. No matter. I shall simply do what I always do: lock onto my goal and spend every second focused and training to hit it. No sleep, no casual side amusement, no second wasted until the target is taken down.  
Before I know it, the bell rings again, signalling the end of break. Slipping the book into my bag, I head back into the building. Mr Karasuma is waiting at the entrance for me, holding an outfit that looks like a grey army combat suit. As I approach him, he holds it out to me.

“Physical education will be done in this. Follow the girls to the changing rooms.”  
I shake my head. “I can not do physical exercise. The doctors say I have a weak heart.”  
His permanent frown deepens. “The type of exercise we do is not like what the main campus offers. Try it, and stop if you feel the strain. In any case, you need to be able to do the basics if you want to succeed in the assassination. These skills are vital.”

I hesitate. What can I say? I know I have to be able to do this; I want to be able to do this, but the scars can never be shown to anyone. If I change in front of all the girls, the secret will be out. What excuse can I give? I don’t have a plan for this. Think, think, think... He watches me, waiting for me to either take the suit or reply. Think think think. The suit is held out more firmly as he coughs impatiently. Thinkthinkthink! “Well…?” he questions.  
Dumbly, I shake my head. “I can’t!” Aware of my overloud tone, I bite my lip, silencing my petty outburst.   
Now he’s going to think there’s something wrong! You idiot. Can you not even come up with a suitable excuse? There are hundreds of options yet all you say is ‘I can’t’?! You even used an abbreviation. He’s going to notice that for sure. If not, he’s definitely not going to take what you just spat out. That’s not an excuse. That’s just a weak plea for help.  
STOP TALKING AND LET ME CONCENTRATE!!!  
…  
Thank you.

“Why not?” he lowers the suit, tone curious. From the corner of my eye, I can see the others turning to give me wondering glances, muttering between themselves.  
They know something is wrong.  
“I…” It’s on the tip of my tongue… “I do not like getting changed in front of other people.” I lower my tone so only he can hear me.  
Oh come on! Weak. You could do so much better than that. Self conscious isn’t your style…

He examines me for a moment, then holds out the suit again. “You can get changed in the bathrooms. After you’re finished, come out here again. We’ll wait.”  
I take the suit, feeling the unusual fabric brush against my fingers. “Thank you, sir.” Lifting my head high, I wander into the bathroom, where I change rapidly. Only as I am tying my hair up into a simple ponytail do I realise the situation I have just placed myself in. I’m about to step into a whole new skill set, one that I have no experience in, and I will be surrounded by those who should be weaker than me, but will certainly dominate me in this field of work.

Wandering back to the rear end of the building, I see the group of students gathered around Mr Karasuma in front of the steps, knives in hand. I pull out my own, bending the new material curiously as I slip into the back of the crowd. A few give me strange looks, which I easily brush off, but I can’t help feeling a shiver run up my spine at a blue-eyed gaze piercing my soul. You can’t show her you’re scared. Stop being so weak and confront her! Inch by inch, I turn my head and fix my attention straight back at her, challenging. Her head lifts up slightly, as though surprised I had noticed her. 

Electricity splits the air between us, intrigue and a certain sense of doom fogging up in the back of my   
mind. Strangely, my thoughts do not go haywire at this; instead, they settle into one deep tone, saying over and over: This is not right. She’s dangerous. Get rid of her.  
“Miss Asano.”  
The spell is snapped off, and I turn my attention back to Karasuma, thoughts mingling wildly around my brain once more.  
“Did you hear all of that?”  
I nod. I wasn’t lying, I did. Even while the main focus of my attention was on Shiota, I made sure that part of me was still watching and listening to all he said. I’m not a fool.

“Good. Alright then, in formation! Asano, stand at the back for now.”  
The class scuttle into rows, and we start the training regiment. One, two, three, four, five. A beat for every knife slash we make. It isn’t as elaborate as I thought it might be, but it is useful, to me especially, to have the basics mastered. By the time he stops us, each move has been stamped into my muscle memory.  
The others trail off to the changing rooms, and I turn to head to the bathrooms again, reaching up to let my hair down. An arm slinks around my neck and a red topped head slides on my shoulder, grinning. “Good job for your first time.” His tone is laced with sarcasm, thumb rubbing off a bead of sweat along my jawline. Has this idiot still not got the hint yet?

I begin to walk, forcing him to pull back a little to avoid bashing into me. “Save it, Akabane. I will improve and easily pass all of you, just you wait.”  
He stands up straighter, but doesn't move his arm from around me. “Why don't we see how well you've improved so far? You and me. After school.”  
I roll my eyes. “I am not that childish. Ridiculous playground scuffles are not my style.”  
“What, you scared?”  
“You can not goad me either. The answer is no.”

He tightens his arm around me, knocking off my balance so I bump into him. “Suit yourself. But I think it's just cause you know I would own you with both my hands and legs tied up.”  
I shove him away, brow furrowing. “As if! You are blinded by your ego.” I spit. I have had enough of this fool. It is time he learnt his place.  
He chuckles as he spots the irritated spark flaming in my eye. “Nah, I'm not scared of someone who can't handle a small fight. Come on, you couldn't even climb the mountain without shaking!”  
“What do you want me to say? I do not need to apologize for not having done intense exercise since I was tiny.”  
He folds his arms, mocking a pout. “Awe, was little creature too weak to join in with all the other children? Or…” he leans forward, face close up to mine, dropping his voice to a taunting whisper. “...was little creature too scared of the other children?”

Too scared. Too scared?!

Without registering what I was doing, I spit in his face. “Go to hell, Akabane. I have never been scared of anyone.”  
He smirks, leaning back to wipe his face. “Not even your old man? Seems to me that even here, you're too scared of him to risk keeping those friends or getting into a quick rally…”  
How could he-? No. He can't. He can't know. No one can. Despite my failing composure, I wipe my face of any reaction. “Of course not. I have my own reasons.”  
He snorts. “Come on, don't lie to me.” He starts to wander, circling me like a shark. “I mean, even your brother is afraid of that man. I doubt you're any different. But you know, no one from main campus knows what happens here. No CCTV. No snitching staff.” He stops, holding his arms out, leaving his chest undefended. “So come on.”  
I am not afraid of him! I will not be manipulated like this! You cannot make me-!

The next second, he is on the ground, and I am above him. Why?! You idiot! Now you've truly lost it. He flips back to his feet, the momentary surprise gone, an eager glint in his golden eyes. “I'd almost given up on you there.”  
You've only shoved him. You can still get out of this.  
I glower at him, then step back. “We are done here.” I turn to walk away, praying that he doesn't-  
Wham!  
The ground hits my stomach hard as I go down, arms automatically coming up to soften my fall, head stopping inches from the dirt, leg pulled out from under me. I flip onto my back to stare up at him as he lets go of it, one eyebrow raised. “Come on, you can't walk out of it that easily! What's the matter? Too stuck up to take responsibility?”

I climb to my feet, dusting myself down. “No. The responsibility is mine to not continue this fight. So I wish you a good day.” I respond sharply, turning once again to walk off.  
This time he grabs my wrist and wraps his other arm around my neck, knife pressed to my skin. “You started it. You finish it.”  
I wince lightly at the pressure on my scars, ripping my wrist out of his grip and pushing the knife away. “You don't want to do this.”  
“Oh I assure you, I do.”


	8. Better Feared Than Loved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter!
> 
> If anyone wants this updated, just say so in the comments section.
> 
> Enjoy!  
\- E.D.

Fine. He wants a fight, he'll get one hell of one. Slipping my knife out of my waistband, I spin and slash at his face. He jumps back in plenty of time, adopting a fighting position, knife held out in front of him, grin on his face, chin tilted upwards arrogantly.  
“Heh, you're way too slow! Guess your dear old dad didn't think to improve any of your physical skills, even for defense! This should be easy.”  
By this time, some of the students who had been slow walking to the changing rooms are heading towards us, whether to break up the fight or just watch, I have no idea. “Stop bringing up my family. They don't define what I do.” I lunge forward, slashing at him.  
He sidesteps, grabbing my arm and yanking me past him casually without even trying to land a blow. “Really? It seems like all three of you are chips off the same block if you ask me.”  
I stumble, but when I regain my balance I spin, slashing at the same time. “We are three completely different people!”  
He steps aside again. He's only playing with me. This isn't an actual fight to him. “What's your mother like, huh? Power hungry and unempathetic like the rest of you?”

Mother. I stab at him in a volley of blows, each one being brushed aside easily. Mother.  
“Well?” He stabs a few lazy hits at me, blatantly not even trying.  
I dodge them, blocking out the noise of the others buzzing and the sounds coming out of his mouth. Pulling his arm as he pulled mine, I kick him in the back as he goes past, making him almost fall to the ground. He stops himself in a crouch, turning and lashing out a foot at my ankle. This I did not expect, my leg jolting out from under me, causing me to stumble, the knife slipping from my hand. He catches it just before it hits the floor, then charges at me, wrapping both arms around my waist and bringing me to the floor heavily. Once I am down, he lets go, straddling me as he holds both knives to my throat. “1, 2, 3, you're out! Sorry princess, suppose you didn't learn enough. Maybe next time…”  
I glare at him, shaking a little, back burning from slamming into the ground that hard. You failed. You lost to this cretin. You didn't even put up a fight! He could have finished it at any point! He was playing you, and you danced along to his tune! You were an idiot for accepting! You were an idiot for losing! You were an idiot for entertaining him! You were an idiot for coming down to his level! Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot-

“I said shut up!” I hiss quietly, teeth gritted.  
Now you're talking to yourself. You're definitely crazy. You should be put away! Psychopath! Someone, get a straightjacket to tie up this lunatic!  
“Did you? I don't remember.” He tilts his head. “So. You may as well answer my question.”  
Oh yes, his question. Mother. Your mother. Your poor mother. Oh, why now? Do we really have to do this now? Can we just say she's fine and get him off you? I mean, this is uncomfortable. He's sitting on top of you in the dirt. You're lying in the dirt. Ironic, really. Brother said you were scrabbling in the dirt with the worms. This just goes to show he didn't just mean metaphorically!  
“Hello? Someone still in there?” He knocks on my head, eyebrow raised.

I snap back, scowling once more. “What?” Come on, a smart girl like you should be able to listen to me and him at once. It's not that hard!  
He rolls his eyes. “The question? Geez, you really aren't as clever as you were made out to be.”  
See? The peacock can see it, why do you refuse to? You aren't smart. You aren't clever. You're just an ordinary little toddler with a baby book that you're pretending to read. Pathetic.  
“None of your business. Since you're so interested in my family life, what about yours?”  
His face closes off, his grin becoming forced. “Fine. Point taken.” He gets to his feet, dropping my knife on my stomach. “Have a good lunch sitting alone under that tree. Although, if you maybe stopped crawling up your own arse, you could see that there's a whole class of people to talk to.” He walks off, shoving his hands in his pockets after slipping his knife inside his blazer. Strange he has it. Suppose he wanted to separate himself from the crowd like the attention seeker he is.

The rest of the class watch from a small distance away as I stand, brushing myself off and concealing my knife again. This time it is more difficult to ignore the whispers and stares. Losing to a classmate on your first day when you are supposed to always be on the top is so much worse when it is the lowest of the low judging you for it, feeling you are inferior to them.  
Chin raised in defiance, I meticulously roam my gaze over them. As each meets my eyes, they drop their heads and fall silent, cowed by my furious aura. All except two. The only two girls I wish to avoid as much as possible. Don't show your fear. Head high. Authoritative. This is who you are and they will fear you instead.  
I march forward, expecting the crowd to part before me as usual, but they don't, forcing me to stop. I glower at their lowered heads, and cough impatiently.

“They aren't going to move.” Isogai. He has lifted his head, face set in determination.  
“Care to explain why not?” I question, tone severe.  
“You said there are differences between who you are and who you make yourself appear to be. So who are you?”  
This again? Honestly, do they want me to spell it out for them? Is that their level of stupidity? “This is me.”  
“Then why even bother making friends with us before? Was any of what you said or did true?” His expression is almost pleading.  
“No.” Best to uproot this fantasy before it grows too large. “A mask is not a person's face. You were toys to play with. Nothing more.”  
He looks crushed, staring back down at the grass. 

“Hey, don't talk to any of us like that!” Terosika protests, stepping into the circle. A simple bully in his younger years, but now he is the one at the bottom of the herd. Seems he didn’t lose his fighting spirit, however.  
“Or what?” I ask plainly. “Will you beat up the Chairman’s daughter?” I hate to use him as influence, but I know it can isolate me from the rest of them easily. If they see me as a separate being, they will not interact with me.  
“If that's what it takes, so be it!”  
“Go on then.”  
He hesitates, put off by my blatant challenge and undefensive stance and tone.  
“That's what I thought.” I stroll past him and out the gap he had made, feeling the sizzling hole burning into my back from the raging glares aimed at me. I did not want this, but I had no choice. Making too many enemies can be dangerous, especially in a class of assassins, yet I would rather have a thousand targets on my back than be distracted from my plans.

I change back, making sure to pull my socks up high and my sleeves low, covering the dark pink scars. It's a subconscious movement by now. Stepping out of the stall, I observe myself in the mirror, hands resting on the edge of the cracked sink. Beautiful. That's what others say. All I see is exhaustion, despite the makeup covering the dark circles. I lift up my brush and stroke it through my hair, untangling the knots, brushing out the dirt, smoothing each strand out to a perfect shine. Beautiful. Unable to resist the urge for the second time today, I spit into the sink. Even so, the sour taste across my tongue remains, leaking down my throat into my weary stomach. Sometimes I make myself sick, trying to get rid of this, but it never goes away and only leads to being sent to the Chairman.  
Stop mulling and go kill that creature. There's no point in this. Not a second can be wasted!  
“I know.” I mumble, packing my brush into my bag hanging from my shoulder, and face the door. Sighing heavily, I roll back my shoulders and step out.

My heart jolts in my cold chest as I see the blue-haired girl standing there, waiting. She holds her hands down by her side, a notebook clasped in one, her clothes hanging off her skinny unshaped figure. Weak. The perfect target for a bully. I have no doubt she's had a few in her time, especially being in class 3-E, but there's something about her…  
Quickening my pace, I march to my left, pretending I didn't see her. Why is it so impossible to avoid her? It's like she's stalking you.  
“Are you ok?” Her voice is huskier than I remember, holding genuine concern.  
“I am fine.” I throw over my shoulder, continuing my heady pace.  
She hesitates, then decides to follow me, a step behind where I walk. “Why were you in there for so long?”  
“Getting changed.” Take the hint. Leave. Me. Alone.

“Why? Don’t you get changed with the girls?” Shouldn’t she know? Doesn’t she get changed with them too? Doesn’t matter. Just get her to go away!  
I halt, turning to face her with a scowl. “Why do you care? Stop pretending like you give a fuck about me. Or are you just questioning me to find out my weaknesses? Because if that is the case, I would advise you stop wasting your time. I do not have any.”  
She hesitates again, frowning, clearly unsure of herself. “I wasn’t…” After a brief pause, she decides on what she wants to say, frown deepening. “Why do you hate us so much?”  
“I do not hate you. You just do not hold any value to me.”  
At this, she seems to deflate inwards on herself, head dropping, hair flopping forward to cover those piercing eyes. Tilting my head up, I smooth out my scowl and calm my tone. Mission accomplished. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have some planning to do.”  
I turn back around to head off, but I am stopped once again. “You aren’t any better than us. We’re in the same class. We have the same goal. We have more info on him than you can hope to gather in the short time left. You don’t have a chance against him without us.”  
This is pointless. You’re wasting your time talking to her. Just leave, there’s no point responding!   
“And yet you still have not managed to kill him yet.” With that, I march off, leaving her to mull over this.

Mood sour, I sit beside the tree and pull out my workbooks. Maybe solving some impossible riddles and equations will help brighten my day up? Yet it is hard to concentrate when the others are talking and laughing and playing so loudly only a small distance away. If only they would shut up! Crumpling up the paper I had been writing on, I move onto the next sheet and start over.  
“Not joining the other boys and girls? That’s a shame. It’s always good to take a break in between work!”  
The creature. Clearly he has recovered from his earlier shock, and now is grinning down at me from beside the tree.  
Not breaking focus from my constant stream of writing, I reply “This is not work. This is what I do for fun. But of course, something like you would never understand that. You prefer blowing things up for fun, right?”

He sighs. “Yes, well, sometimes we have these little destructive urges that we just can’t say no to! Although, I’m not sure I believe the part about this being fun for you. You don’t seem to be enjoying it very much.”  
“I am enjoying this perfectly fine. What I am not enjoying is that incessant noise!” I crumple up the paper and start on a new one.  
“Perhaps you should try something else for fun, as I’m afraid the other students are unlikely to finish anytime soon. Maybe you could join them?”  
This thing doesn’t give up, does it? How irritating. It’s actually pretending to be helpful. 

“I have a weak heart. I can not do exercise without being in a mild state of discomfort or pain.”  
“Hm. That is quite an issue. However, I believe that even if you simply play referee, you'll have plenty of fun.”  
“I do not understand the rules of the games.”  
“They can teach you.”  
“I am a slow learner.”  
“From your test results, I know that isn't true.”  
“They would not want to waste time teaching me.”  
“Of course they would. They are very caring children.”  
“Not to me. They do not like me.”

The rally of words is paused as he catches my response. “Why not?”  
Idiot. Now it'll try and force you to make friends with them. This is why you don't tell teachers anything! Even fake ones.  
“Because I do not need them.”  
“Friends can be most useful allies, especially these ones. Not only do they have so much experience trying to kill me, but teamwork and friendship can be very motivational.”  
“I do not need them.” I repeat, turning back to my work.  
“Come now, at least give it a try. You never know how helpful they can be until you work with them.”  
“I. Do. Not. Need. Them.”  
He sighs, sinking down to my level. “You know, I-”  
There's a strong gust of wind as he speeds to avoid my abrupt knife attack. “Nice attempt, but you won't be able to kill me that easily.”  
“That was not an attempt.”  
He tilts his head. “I'm curious, when will you actually try to kill me?”  
I pause in my scribbling, lifting my head to face him. “Believe me, you will know.”  
His incessant grin grows. “That's the spirit.”


	9. Seduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to requests, I am updating this! Be aware, there will be long periods of time between updates, as my main focus is on 'What's Left Behind', but I shall do what I can. On a brighter note, Christmas is coming!!! Four days left!!!
> 
> Enjoy!  
\- E.D.

The bell rings. Packing away the remains of my half-eaten lunch along with the countless pieces of paper, I get to my feet. English. A chance to meet and assess the usefulness of my final teacher. With a small lift at the corners of my mouth, I march to the lesson, head high. I can almost sense the students pulling away from me as I pass them, exchanging looks with their friends. It feels a tad strange, being despised by the students instead of adored, but I am sure I will get used to it. Or maybe I won’t need to. With ten billion yen, I can easily buy my way out of here, and then I can simply force my way into another top school. I don’t need the money to do that.

Laying my bag on the floor next to my desk, I sit, taking in Akabane’s empty seat. He must have decided to skive to cool off. Why am I not surprised…?  
“You little maggots!”  
Startled, my eyes dart to the front of the classroom, where a blonde woman in an extremely inappropriately revealing outfit is glaring at the class, holding up a manicured finger to the board, on which is drawn a crude but artistic image of her kissing the creature. Above her head is written ‘Mrs Bitch before’. Beside it is a picture of her bowing down to the creature. ‘Mrs Bitch after’.  
“Which one of you did this?! I’ll make you pay for it!” She snarls, slamming a heeled foot onto the floorboards.  
The students snicker, clearly enjoying the woman’s pure fury.

Pathetic. This is our teacher? She’s like a two-year-old! Screw this.  
I raise my hand, face a usual blank, unamused slate. It takes almost a full five minutes before she is over screaming her head off and waving knives and guns around. Eventually, though, she notices me.  
“What?!”  
Lowering my hand, I reply in a cool, even tone. “Miss, if you are not planning to teach us anything other than how to lose your head, then I would seek your permission to be allowed to perform a private study outside. I have my own textbooks with me.”  
She bristles. “I am going to teach you the second I find out who the hell drew this!” Once again, she starts off on a rant at the class.  
This is stupid. If we are ever going to get anywhere, she first needs to cool down. Or find someone to focus her anger on. You know whose art style that is, right? You’ve seen their reports, why they got moved down. Tell her.

“It was Sōsuke Sugaya, Miss.” I stand, pulling my bag onto my shoulder, ignoring the glares from the suddenly annoyed students. “Now you know who it is, you have a choice. You either calm down and teach, or keep throwing a fit and let me leave.”  
She glares at me, slowly calming down a little. “Fine.” She rubs off the drawing with furious vigour before turning to me and holding out the chalk. “If you’re so desperate to learn, let’s see what you can do.”  
A challenge, huh? Oh, this child of a woman has no idea what she has gotten herself into.  
I drop the bag to the floor again, marching forward and taking the chalk. Facing the blank board, I pause for thought for three and a half seconds before beginning to carve out my words.

She wants to see what you can do? Show her. Don’t stop at English, go further! Let’s see just how skilled this brat of a woman is.  
I start to write, my crisp markings perfectly tracing out clear letters. After each phrase, I write out in Japanese which language it is.

‘I can understand this, can you?’ - English  
‘Je peux comprendre cela, pouvez-vous?’ - French  
‘我能明白这一点，对吗?’ - Chinese  
‘나는 이걸 이해할 수 있니?’ - Korean  
‘Puedo entender esto, ¿puedes?’ - Spanish  
‘Я могу это понять, а ты?’ - Russian  
‘‘Eu posso entender isso, você-’

“I think we get it…” She says, snatching the chalk back.

Satisfied, I march back to my seat. The looks the students give me are of irritated astonishment, openly hating how good I am at practically everything. Luckily, the teacher seems to have been pulled out of her enraged state, and is instead regarding me with thought, wondering how on earth to teach a student who already knows everything. On the main campus, the languages teacher could simply pit me against Brother in a verbal battle at the side of the classroom, and that was enough to make us learn from each other. But here, there is no one skilled enough to learn from.  
“I know what we’ll do today!” She suddenly announces, then slams her hands down on the desk. “Let’s test out our kissing techniques!”

Test out...our...kissing techniques?!

“I’ll assign you into pairs and you can label yourselves A and B. Don’t try switching after I tell you which one is the seducer; you’re both going to get a go!”  
You...have to be kidding me. This is what they learn here?! At least now I know the depth of their depravity…  
“Ok, so! Shiota with Kayano, Okano with Maehara, Sugino with Asano…”  
Tomohito Sugino. Used to be a member of the baseball team before he was moved down to Class E for his low grades. Overall, he seems to get on well with the rest of the class, but of course that won’t be much help now. We talked a few times before I was moved down, but now, of course, he will despise me like the rest of them.  
“Up you get! Time to show your partner what you are made of!” She squeals with gusto.  
How am I supposed to do this? I don’t need nor want to. She obviously only chose this to torment me. She truly is a child! How can we get out of this...think you idiot!

He glances over at me, realising I’m not moving towards him. I see his eyes flick to Kanzaki, his chest rising and falling in a deep sigh, before he gets to his feet and walks over.  
"Uh, hi." He tries a smile, sitting in the vacant seat in front of me.  
I glare back in haughty silence.  
He shuffles awkwardly. And I thought he was supposed to be confident! "Uhhmm… do you want to be A or B?"  
Again, I remain silent, only deigning to lift an eyebrow.

"I suppose it doesn't matter, right?" He pauses, as though expecting an answer. "Right. I'll be A, then." Finally figuring out he would receive no response, he turns to watch the rest of the class. Karma and Nakamura have been paired, although both seem to be more focused on the blushing pair of Shiota and Kayano than on each other. It is bizarre how much attention others place on relationships, even those that are not their own. Rather than studying or training like I do, students tend to have their entire lives revolving around a single person, then eventually move onto another like the first had never existed. It is not logical.

"Everyone decided? Great! Person B shall go first."

Kissing someone should not be hard. The physical act should not. Yet… the cameras under the devil's desk are incredibly distracting. Evidently the pair are hoping for blackmail material, which I am not eager to give.  
Sugino glances at me, wincing a little. "You first. I don't, uhm, like you or anything, so you don't have to feel awkward."  
"So you are homosexual?"  
"No!" He yells, face flushing. "I mean, I don't have anything against gay people, but that's not what I meant! I just-"  
Why does he not just say no? People constantly explain themselves. I should save him the embarrassment, judging by the colour of his face, and save myself the wasting of time. Leaning across the desk, I connect my lips with his for roughly 0.64 seconds, then settle back again, arms folded. Unfortunately, his complexion now resembles a beetroot. He stares at me, wide-eyed, before coughing and abruptly turning to watch the class again. Avoiding eye contact, I suppose, which is good as my own face has become rather warm.

The fully grown baby swoops into my vision, her cloud of blonde hair wafting an offensive strawberry scent into my face. "What was that supposed to be?! A kiss? That was possibly the worst I've ever seen. You're supposed to do it like this!"  
A millisecond later, her face is squashed up against Sugino's in a most unattractive manner. Kissing. Why do people ever decide to do it? Handshakes are the extent of affection I have been shown, by anyone, and they are much better than this...display. Sugino is attempting to gently remove himself, without much success. The teacher seems intent on gnawing his face off.  
Eventually, however, she releases him. "That's how you do it. Sugino, show her. I have other students to teach!"  
Other students to sexually harass, she means.

Sugino's kiss is far less aggressive than the teacher's, thankfully. He appears about as comfortable with this kissing thing as I am, which means not at all. We both spend the rest of class dodging any social interaction. Soon, the bell rings, granting the class freedom from the tension. They all burst into chatter when packing their items, discussing after school plans and lessons and murder tactics. Again, so illogical. Surely they would have more time to carry out these ideas if they didn't waste so much of it talking?  
The trek down the mountain is less tiring than up, yet still ultimately leaves me out of breath. Perhaps it is time I began to train my body. Pure intelligence cannot kill a creature of his power alone. Brother will be in some sort of commitment when I get home, so I should have privacy enough to do that. 

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Yes, brother is in a commitment, yet there is no privacy. We have a visitor. Ren Sakakibara, one of the minions, has been seated in the living room by our housemaid. He looks up as I walk in, mouth opening to say something, then shutting again as he realises it is me. Instead, he just offers a sly smirk and a polite nod, evidently hoping for my brother instead of me.  
I prepare to carry on to my room, ready to change and begin my Chairman-assigned homework, when I suddenly pause. If the child-teacher’s class is all about seduction, and I have no skills in that area, I will look inadequate, and therefore easily looked down upon. No, I need to remain aloof and so far above them that they will not stand in my way. Sakakibara is practically a seduction expert, and a minion of my brother. Claiming him as mine will not only improve my wide skill set, yet it can lessen the power of my brother. As the saying goes, I can kill two birds with one stone.

“Sakakibara.” I turn to face him. He appears mildly shocked that I am talking to him, but rapidly covers it over with a flick of his hair.  
“Yes?”  
“If you could teach me how to seduce someone, I will owe you any favour of relative importance to this.”

Silence.

He stares at me, grin slowly spreading, then innocently asks. “Who’s the lucky guy?”  
“The lucky guy?”  
“The guy you wanna seduce.”  
“I do not want to seduce anyone. It is simply a skill that I should have for the future.”  
He rolls his eyes, sighing a little. “Okay, sure. You’re so much like your brother, you know?”  
I bristle, loathe to be compared to him. “I do not know what you mean.”  
“Whatever. Sure, I’ll help you out. When do you want to start?”  
“Now. My brother is currently occupied, so you can help me whilst he is busy.”


	10. AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm really sorry to anyone who liked this work, but it has been a very long time since I updated or felt any inspiration for this. I think it's mainly my decision to use an OC as the main character, and also because I started this a long time ago without thinking anyone was going to read it.

For anyone who might want to use any ideas in this fic for one of their own, please feel free.

Again, I'm really sorry that I can't finish this. I would have done an ending if I could have, but I started this with the intention of making it very long, and ending it so early would be impossible without making it feel unsatisfying.

My other works are still being updated regularly and I'm posting a lot of short ones, if you would like to read those instead.

*tips hat*  
\- E.D.


End file.
